Water causes minor damage to City Creek stores

Construction continues on City Creek in Salt Lake City on Friday, Mar. 2, 2012.

Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Summary

Just weeks before the grand opening of the much-anticipated City Creek Center, news surfaced of massive water damage at least one major retailer.

“No merchandise was damaged. We see this as a manageable construction incident: certainly nothing that changes any plans for opening.”

Dale Bills, a spokesman for City Creek Reserve

SALT LAKE CITY — Just weeks before the grand opening of the much-anticipated City Creek Center, news surfaced of massive water damage at least one major retailer.

But despite reports that the Macy's department store just off of South Temple and Main Street had sustained damage in a water line break, those connected to the project said the incident was minor.

"Very minimal leakage did take place in the back-of-the house area, but the water was quickly drained away," Macy's spokesman Kelley Tarzian said. "There was not any damage to the sales floor or merchandise."

The store's participation in the opening of the center on March 22 and Community Day on March 17 will not be affected.

Dale Bills, a spokesman for City Creek Reserve, said a worker Wednesday opened a fire standpipe.

"Some damage was done to a service corridor that accesses back-of-house areas for a handful of retail stores," Bills said. "No merchandise was damaged. We see this as a manageable construction incident: certainly nothing that changes any plans for opening..."

AT&T spokesman Marty Clark confirmed its store at City Creek was also impacted, but it suffered no damage to its merchandise. Damage to a back wall was described as minor.

"People are working round-the-clock to ensure that the March 22nd opening date is not affected," Clark said.

The $1.5 billion downtown project was set in motion more than 10 years ago in an effort to revitalize Salt Lake City's central business district. When finished, City Creek Center will feature approximately 700,000 square feet of shopping and dining space, along with 536 new condominiums or apartments.

Among the unique features of the 23-acre development are a 30,000-square-foot fully retractable glass roof, a sky bridge over Main Street and a re-creation of City Creek, the snow-fed stream that once meandered through the city.

Taubman Centers Inc. is managing the retail portion of the development and just announced the roster of more than 90 retailers set to fill the space, including Brooks Brothers, Tiffany & Co. and Coach. When the project opens, it is expected to bring about 2,000 jobs to the local economy.

Emiley Morgan is a legal affairs reporter for the Deseret News. She worked in the Features department before joining the News Division in 2009. Before her time at the Deseret News, she worked as a reporter and editor for more ..